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Out of the total Space Force personnel, approximately 16,000 are airmen who were previously part of the Air Force Space Command. Another 6,000 staff are expected to be asked to leave the Air Force and transfer to the Space Force over the next year after administrative issues are sorted out

FREMONT, CA: U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has submitted a USD 740.5 billion budget request for national defense for the year 2021, which includes USD 15.4 billion for the U.S. Space Force, according to documents released by the Pentagon. The U.S Space Force was established as an independent wing under the Department of Air Force in December 2020. The U.S. Air Force transferred USD 15.4 billion to the Space Force from existing funds as part of the 2021 budget.

The USD 15.4 billion budget will be used for the continued funding of projects that were managed by the U.S. Air Force. The budget has been developed based on substantial inputs from the U.S. Space Force. “I personally worked on this budget very closely in both of my hats as commander of U.S. Space Command and chief of the Space Force,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond. However, the budget is not inclusive of around USD 800 million in personnel costs, which for now remain in the Air Force budget because the Space Force does not yet have a separate accounting system. “The mechanics of this budget was such that the money was still in the Air Force because we hadn’t stood up the Space Force yet,” Raymond added. "But, we shaped this budget."

Out of the total Space Force personnel, approximately 16,000 are airmen who were previously part of the Air Force Space Command. Another 6,000 staff are expected to be asked to leave the Air Force and transfer to the Space Force over the next year after administrative issues are sorted out. The assigning process to the U.S. Space Force is similar to Air Force personnel being assigned to combatant commands or the Joint Staff. As per Department of Defense (DoD) budget documents, the standup of the Space Force will continue through the upcoming fiscal year 2025.

Due to the projected transfer of personnel, the Air Force active duty ranks are expected to drop from 511,000 to 505,000. The 2021 budget will fund 553 staff to standup the U.S. Space Force headquarters. As per DoD projections, the headquarters will grow to 1,800 personnel by 2025. As per the budget documents, the U.S. Space Force will continue to rely on the Air Force for foundational and infrastructure support, except in performing those functions unique to the space domain or central to its independence.